offices, and one of the Dusties hopped out
ahead of Pete. The creature strode across the rough gravel to the door,
pulling tar off his fingers just as he had seen Pete do. Pete followed
him to the door, and then stopped, frowning. There should have been a
babble of voices inside, with Captain Schooner's loud laugh roaring
above the excitement. But Pete could hear nothing. A chill of uneasiness
ran through him; he pushed open the door and walked inside. A dozen of
his friends looked up silently, avoiding the eyes of the uniformed
stranger in the center of the room. When he saw the man, Pete Farnam
knew something was wrong indeed.

It wasn't Captain Schooner. It was a man he'd never seen before.

* * * * *

The Dustie ran across the room in front of Pete and hopped up on the
desk as though he owned it, throwing his hands on his hips and staring
at the stranger curiously. Pete took off his cap and parka and dropped
them on a chair. "Well," he said. "This is a surprise. We weren't
expecting a ship so soon."

The man inclined his head stiffly and glanced down at the paper he held
in his hand. "You're Peter Farnam, I suppose? Mayor of this colony?"

"That's right. And you?"

"Varga is the name," the captain said shortly. "Earth Security and
Supply." He nodded toward the small, frail-looking man in civilian
clothes, sitting beside him. "This is Rupert Nathan, of the Colonial
Service. You'll be seeing a great deal of him." He held out a small
wallet of papers. "Our credentials, Farnam. Be so good as to examine
them."

Pete glanced around the room. John Tegan and Hank Mario were watching
him uneasily. Mary Turner was following the proceedings with her sharp
little eyes, missing nothing, and Mel Dorfman stood like a rock, his
heavy face curiously expressionless as he watched the visitors. Pete
reached out for the papers, flipped through them, and handed them back
with a long look at Captain Varga.

He was younger than Captain Schooner, with sandy hair and pale eyes that
looked up at Pete from a soft baby face. Clean-shaven, his whole person
seemed immaculate as he leaned back calmly in the chair. His civilian
companion, however, had indecision written in every line of his pink
face. His hands fluttered nervously, and he avoided the colonist's eyes.

Pete turned to the captain. "The papers say you're our official supply
ship," he said. "You're early, but an Earth ship is always good news."